Cyrus Vance

Lawyer / U.S. Secretary of State

Born: 27 March 1917

Died: 12 January 2002

Birthplace: Clarksburg, West Virginia

Best known as: U.S. Secretary of State, 1977-80

Name at birth: Cyrus Roberts Vance

Cyrus Vance was Secretary of State under U.S. president Jimmy Carter, holding the office from 1977 until he resigned in 1980. Vance resigned his post because he disagreed with a military plan to rescue U.S. citizens being held hostage in Tehran, Iran (the plan was carried out and failed). A lawyer, Vance had also been a long-time official in the Department of Defense, a veteran of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations (1960-68). After leaving Carter's cabinet, Vance returned to his law practice, but in the early 1990s he again participated in diplomatic missions in Croatia and Bosnia. Before his death he suffered from Alzheimer's Disease.